Meet the Mapu Maia Team

Pesio Ah-Honi Siitia
Pacific Manager

Bachelor of Marketing and Business/Post Grad Diploma in Health Promotion/Member of DAPAANZ

Pesio has been working with Pacific communities for the past 20 years and in particular within public health and workforce development. She is Samoan born and New Zealand raised with a background in Pacific tertiary education and Pacific media and marketing.  In 2001 Pesio developed the first Pacific Gambling project in Manukau with Pacificare Trust as the Project Manager.  Her role was to develop Pacific public health programs in Manukau. 

In 2002 Pesio took up the role as Pacific Co-ordinator for Niu Development's National Pacific Gambling Project and developed the national public health strategies for problem gambling. The project included Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.  In 2003, Pesio started at the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (PGF) and since then has had various roles as Health Promotions Advisor, Public Health Practice leader and currently Pacific Manager of Mapu Maia Services.

She has initiated and developed action groups, community development projects, community needs analysis, training and workshop for Pacific screening and brief interventions, Pacific youth projects and Pacific Church strategies.  Pesio currently delivers the Pacific training for the Te Kakano public health project as well as being a member of various advisory, organizing and steering committees along with other Pacific and non Pacific providers.  She is also an elected board member of the Health Promotion Forum of NZ.

Rufo Tinai Pupualii
Pacific Counsellor / Educator

Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Arts (Sociology and Pacific studies)/Certificate in Public Health/ANZASW

Rufo is a registered member of Aotearoa NZ Association of Social Workers.  She has worked in the Pacific Mental Health Services as a Public Health Educator for five years. From 2003 to 2008 she worked as the Pacific co-ordinator of the Pacific Gambling Project at Pacificare Trust.  She was later promoted and became Team Leader of both the "Like Minds, Like Mine" project and the Problem Gambling Project.  In 2008 Rufo was employed as the Health Promotion Advisor for PGF and in 2010 her role changed to the Pacific Counsellor/ Educator Mapu Maia Services. 

Rufo is currently in her final year completing her studies in Masters' of Social Work Applied with Massey University.

Seilosa Patterson
Pacific Counsellor / Educator

Master of Health Science (Hons) AUT 2004 Specialising in Psychotherapy

Seilosa is of Samoan descent and has worked in the Pacific community in various roles for many years.  Her experience in gambling counselling is vast as well as family and relationship therapy.

Professional Bodies Affiliation:
Member of Aotearoa NZ Psychotherapist Board
Member of DAPANZ - Drug and Alcohol Practitioners Aotearoa, New Zealand

May 2004 - April 2006:  Pacific Development Manager/Team Leader/Fono Leader at Challenge Trust (Mental Health Service Provider).

In her position as Pacific Development Manager, she was firstly responsible for:
Pacific mental health mobile community contract
Pacific cultural training and support to all 225 staff
Pacific fono aims, objectives and activities
Pacific workforce development

Seilosa was responsible for planning, designing and implementing service delivery plans and actively contributed to organisational strategic and business planning. New service implementation was a key feature in her role.  Seilosa also worked as a private consultant which included working within PGF as a Clinical Supervisor (2008-2009) and for the Waitemata District Health Board as a Cultural Competency Contracted Trainer.  In 2002 Seilosa worked for the Gambling Helpline and was pivotal in setting up the Pasifika service.